Intent on pursuing a career dedicated to the service of others, Justin Jean-Baptiste aspires to join the Peace Corps and eventually work for the Department of State.
The English Linguistics major knows he has many important stops along his educational journey before he achieves this goal, and he’s hard at work to ensure he stays on track for success.
That’s how he found his way to FIU’s Fall 2024 Career Fair on Sept. 16, where more than 2,000 students and alumni had the opportunity to interact with over 130 employers representing every major industry and dozens of in-demand career paths.
The semiannual event, hosted by FIU Career and Talent Development in the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, helps Panthers explore the possibilities for careers and internships based on their major and skillsets.
Knowing his dream jobs are highly competitive, Jean-Baptiste spent weeks leading up to Career Fair preparing to make a positive first impression with potential employers. Using online tools offered free of charge by Career and Talent Development, such as Handshake and VMock, he perfected his resume and elevator pitch.
These services helped him organize his extensive experience – which includes serving as a martial arts instructor and lead counselor at children’s summer camps, taking two study abroad trips, and working in national parks as a member of Americorps – into an expertly crafted resume ready to catch the attention of application committees.
“I want to teach all over the world, and I feel like [Peace Corps] is a really good opportunity for that,” Jean-Baptiste said. “I’ve been beefing up my application… Career and Talent Development really helped me a lot throughout the process.”
With these tools, all available on FIU’s uConnect platform, students and alumni have access to FIU’s year-round schedule of career development events and workshops, as well as AI-powered resume and cover letter review, mock interview sessions, personalized job and internship listings, and much more.
At Career Fair, Jean-Baptiste and potential employers discussed how he can best connect his top skills as an English major – such as written communication and analytical thinking – to achieve success in their available positions.
“Our goal with Career Fair and all our CTD programming is to help Panthers explore how they can utilize the knowledge and 21st-century skills they’re gaining at FIU to set themselves apart among the job applicant pool,” said Ruth E. Pacheco, Ph.D., Executive Director for Industry Partnerships and Career Readiness at FIU.
Career and Talent Development also offers a variety of in-person services, including individualized career advising sessions with liaisons embedded in FIU’s colleges and schools, “career closet” thrifting events, employment symposiums targeted for specific career paths such as the annual Federal Government Statewide Conference, and much more.
Claim your free Handshake account at fiu.joinhandshake.com to schedule your career advising session and begin your job search today.